The New York Islanders have fired Lane Lambert and brought in Hall of Famer Patrick Roy as their new head coach.
We discuss why this move was necessary, what went wrong for Lambert and what, if any moves Lou Lamoriello has up his sleeve next.
Plus what kind of coach is Roy and how will his hiring change things for Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, Ilya Sorokin and the rest of the Islanders.
All this and more on today’s special bonus episode of the Locked On Islanders Podcast with Gil Martin.
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45 Comments
new found faith fingers crossed that these bad habits can be solved to get us into a more competitive position
So lane is gone. Big deal. Need to get rid of the idiot running the front office
Boom!
I agree, Gil. Lou has wrecked our depth and farm system. Maybe this team just doesn’t have the horses? But Patrick Roy is a great coach. One of the greatest players of all time. He should breathe some life into this underachieving group.
Disagree with this part…they cannot be competitive. No retool…that’s why they’re in the position they’re in now.
The day Patrick Roy quit on the Canadians is the day I lost all respect for him. His tirades and cheap shot fights are notable also. I hope he's a better coach than he is a person.
Good stuff!
Thank you.
Gil, I couldn't agree with you more. This is a team in a "win now" mode that isn't winning. That's the problem in a nutshell. If Roy can't get this group to play, then tear the team down at the trade deadline. Lou would have to go.
Unfortunately, he was only part of the problem, exacerbated by this team! They still have to overcome injuries, getting help at the deadline, lackluster play, underperforming players and stupid play!
Gil,there lies the key,playoff aspirations! Thats the only hope this club has regardless of the coach,we dont have the needed talent!
NY Isles don't have enough high end talent to even make the playoffs, fire Lou now and let the rebuild begin.
Wow. Roy. Not the guy I would have expected. Fingers crossed.t
Had to do something
Roy needs to kick these guys in the ass. Martin, Mayfield, Clutterbuck all playing awful hockey.
Gil
Article i read states when Sakic gained power,he and Roy were to build the team with a shared vision! We,that didnt work,Roy disagreed with Dakic and chose to leave,he wasnt let go!
Shouldn't Ladecky and Malkin be on the hot seat too? I don't care if they're the owners, they're just as responsible as Lou is.
This is a good first domino to fall. But it's not all Lanes fault! We have way too many under performing veterans on this team with huge contracts. One of those happens to wear the "C" on their jersey. I'd rather lose watching young guys play instead of these bum vets. I hope Roy can change the locker room attitude around.
when lane came in he wanted to be more offensive minded BUT the sign of a good coach is to not compromise one position for another.That was clearly not the case with lambert our defense which was our strong point was horrendous this in large part is why sorokin has been under seige and his stats have plummeted.
Not sure what to think of all these very first time Head coaches….lambert was his first time….okay let’s see where we go with Roy…..is this Roy’s first time too…..
this team has heart and roy is going to get everything out of them that he can
Been on a LL watch for weeks – now it happened! I just hope that since we are in playoff mode now that we don't give up our first round pick. If Lou trades the pick he should go to! Actually Lou should go, first round pick or not.
I am not expecting miracles. But I think they could be better. PK and holding leads should be at least a little fixable. May be a playoff team, but not a cup contender. No more Freaking trading 1st round picks!!!!
Islanders just picked up a new fan north of the border. And you got a sub.
Roy is my all-time favorite player. I wasn't even a goalie. I played leftwing. I just love his confidence, inventiveness, and his take no shit attitude.
Cheers from Ottawa.
I was really hoping the Sens were going to pick up Roy. I knew someone was going to after his cup win.
defense positioning?
Lou’s last stand. I’m not sure this is a good fit, but anything is better than what we have been forced to watch since Barry got fired. We’re not getting better until the GM goes, but at least now we’ll be entertaining in one form or another
I'm not excited to see Roy behind the bench. He sucked with the Avs. He inherited a very good roster and got 1 good year out of them, then bombed in the playoffs. The next 2 years were disasters, and the way he quit was bush league. His Owner-GM-coach stint in QM wasn't very impressive, despite winning the cup last year. There are FAR better, experienced, NHL coaches waiting for a job.
This one smells fishy. Roy isn't a 'win now' coaching choice.
Could be:
1) Roy is the GM in waiting and Yoda will be schooling the kid (ha ha) for when he hangs up his walking stick.
2) No experienced head coach wanted to take over the mess Yoda created, and Roy will make a splash and get a few more fans to buy tickets.
Whatever is going on, Lane had to go. Even the vets started to look confused out there. I'm confident he'll get another shot. I think his biggest mistake was failing to adjust his 'more offense from defensemen' plan. D men were jumping in way too often and way too deep. You can't have a slow-foot like Mayfield playing offense below the goal line. Just this week Dobson skated below the dots and couldn't get back on D, resulting in a prime scoring chance against. It made no sense to have your D-men playing offense while expecting forwards to play defense. That works with the very best defensemen, even then it has a cost.
Sigh I wish Lou was with Bob Kraft that day at Ms. Li's happy hand massage parlor. We would have a couple of 1st round picks developing in Bridgeport.
HOLY SHIT. I knew it was coming. The hammer finally falls on lame-0 coach. Roy a fiery coach is a winner. 4 cups, three s c mvps. Took two habs teams that had no business winning the cup to the cup. Outdueled broudeur and louzer's dev's for last cup/mvp in '01. Took q league remparts to two mem. cup titles. Won coty with av's. Roy has done it all. Probably warming up to take over as gm when louzer departs. Roy was schooled in d play with habs. He'll get the d end straightened out. Just watch for those goalie pulls with 5-6 minutes left. And roy left in power struggle with sakic. Right before training camp. Nothing roy can do about louzers lack of depth/talent. But he can bring a new voice and light a fire under this lazy vet bunch. And any vet that questions roy can get a 'i can't hear you i have two of my stanley cup ring in my ear'. No isle can claim that outside of extra d man 41.
btw this means louzer isn't ready to throw the season away and has one more move to go. Which means bye bye to that first in tdl deal. It better be for a proven scorer. And i know billy was great no offense to 31 but i still say roy was the best post-season playoff $$$ goalie ever. Those habs teams had no business winning a cup. His completely shutting down dev's gms. 6-7 with series on line (a nj team that could score goals, 2nd in gf that season) was a thing of beauty and showed brodeur who the real best goalie was.
I guess it took the loser point loss to lowly hawks for louzer to finally axe lame-0 coach. I'll miss saying 'lame-0'.
Roy's not going to tolerate the team allowing Sorokin to get shelled every night. The defense should improve.
2 huge egos: Lou and Roy. Don’t see it lasting 2 years.
Thank you for the bonus episiode.
Don't think it will matter. But LGI.
He win the memorial cup last year in the chl. Lets not forget about that
Lou really took care of the players to such a degree that it’s hurting the organization.
I think he is to brigth to make the same mistake that he did with the alvs and hes pretty good with young players because of is experience in the q
Long time coming
Love the move. Lane and the players were not executing. One down and may also add/replace/trade a player.
Thank God WOW better late than never, I’m happy I forgot about Roy or him as a coach, thanks for the post last night Gil I slept better LGI
Lou needs to be the next to go. Even Garth wasn’t this ignorant
Hi Gil!! I jumped for joy when I found out! He coaches the way he played—-will not take crap—will get in your face—major intensity and the “Country Club” atmosphere is over!! He will play who deserves it!! He will tighten the defense!! He will make sure they are on their p’s and q’s!! He owes our fat cats absolutely nothing!! Go ahead—-take a penalty 7 seconds into a 5 on 3 and see if you won’t ride the pine!! As much as I can’t stand Louless—-he shocked me!! This is no interim coach!! They said his Junior team was the most structured team in years!! Know what else Gil? You don’t think having a pure Hall of Famer netminder wont help Sorro? You betcha it will!! I am stoked for tomorrow’s game!! Absolute legitimacy with Roy!! He does not take crap!! It’s exactly what this team needed. A guy like this that has no ties to these guys!! Ponies or no ponies—-structure and discipline can get us in!! Better play the right way or your gonna be in the press box. He has a short fuse that sooner than later will be felt. The lazy passengers will be dropped off Gil, at the nearest luxury box. Can’t wait for tomorrow!! LGI!! Let’s go Islanders!! Lets Go Islanders!! Let’s Go Islanders!!
Hadn't expected Lou to pull the trigger, but it does show he can act, even in a situation of which he has gambled on Lambert, thus all falls on him. Things did need a reshuffle, so we wouldn't experience what we did a year ago getting horrible streaks that almost lost us the playoff.
Of course this is another gamble, betting on Roy, who of course has some valuable experience Lane didn't. Shows Lou cares about this project which truth be told, has put him in such a situation that he has painted himself into a corner in his beliefs this was the team to pull through. Hope this means we will stir the pond a bit, because the downside of Isles being such a family oriented team, it can get a bit too comfortable.
Great podcast and insights as per usual, Gil.
better to move coaches
after the Sharks game
louzer has always had a fascination with the habs for coaches. lemaire, julien, now roy. word is roy watched two recent isle games and two other teams were in on roy. And roy's remparts rolled to the mem. cup last spring. 4-0. Weren't even challenged. And roy will love lazy ass pierre. had to make the move now after 0-3-1 trip 1-4-1 run, and stars and vgk coming in. Isles losing ground fast in east. at least nj, caps, and flyers all lost. roy stoned isles in '93 wcf.
Lou sucks. I’m tired of him trading all our picks
Your video was randomly suggested to me. I watched it and enjoyed it. You clearly know your hockey. I think Patrick Roy is the most unlikely but perfect choice. He will bring excitement to a team that's been the palest vanilla (bland) team in hockey for the past 20yrs. He'll bring a manic energy to the room. Barzal's going to LOVE him!
Remember the Roy isn't just defensive minded. Roy has played with studs like Richer, Sakic and the great Guy Lafleur. He's aware that offense helps the defense and goalies.
Anyways pls continue.
Oh Yea, I forgot to mention I'm Canadian and love the fact you know your stuff.
Oh Yeah, I forgot to also mention I'm from Vancouver B.C. So to end my comment….
Burn in Hell Islanders. #NeverForget 😎😎😎
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